mountain or hybrid?

I've been away from biking for about 10+ yrs. i want to go out there and mostly have fun!
ride around the neighborhood and visit the local parks/trails (there are a couple of good ones close by). I'd also prefer to find my way around town by bike than have to drive to these parks, you know, be spontaneous!

the local(closest) bike shop sells Cannondale and Specialized. i tested the Quick 4 and it felt very weird.
it was uncomfortable, tall and fast. while commuting does sound like a good idea (I'm not dismissing it), i want to experiment with back roads, finding shortcuts, and getting dirty. I'd sooner cut through a field than sit in traffic waiting for a light to turn green; sorry, but isn't that the point of going by bike?

i really didn't like the whole shocks and suspension for bikes, but the more i think about it, it really sounds more like i need a mountain bike, i think they're called cross country.

am i making sense, or is there a better way of asking for a bike to the guys at the shop?
i too don't want to cheap out, so i need to make sure i make a good decision.

thanks for any/all input.

Ok, help us out - what are you actually asking ?

Welcome to the forum! It is indeed difficult to figure out what you are asking. For one thing, what do you mean by trails? If you mean paved or otherwise improved bike paths, you don't need a mountain bike. A fatter-tire road bike is fine for that, and certainly a hybrid would work.

Really, local knowledge is a good thing. There are truly excellent bike shops in San Antonio. Ask the guys that work there. They know the area. Don't expect a department store's employees to know what they are talking about.

FWIW, I find a road bike with a more relaxed frame geometry and fat tires, to suit me, on everything from pavement to dirt paths, but I ride flatter terrain than SATX.

i mean, like where there is grass where there should be a sidewalk, but there's a line of dead/missing grass and it's basically dirt.

the park i'm talking about is schnabel park in san antonio. i found this utube video of a guy on a bike. what kind of bike is he riding? mountain bike or hybrid bike?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRpH4GV5nwM

can i take a hybrid bike on here, like the quick 4?
if not, can i take a mountain bike on the road to get here?

and basically just going up and down the street to get some exercise. i don't need to get anywhere quickly, i just want to have fun doing it.

the hybrid bike didn't feel right, are they all pretty much the same? use 700x35c tires?
can i jump a curb on a hybrid bike and not destroy it withing a year?

i told the guy at the shop i wanted something to ride around the neighborhood, but i didn't know the existance of said park, until i found it on google maps. now i'm thinking if i can ride my bike(on the road) over to the park and go exploring it's trails.

i found this other video, it looks like they have mountain bikes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icYTvpK-zuU
can i ride a mountain bike on a normal paved street, potholes included?

thank u.

It sounds to me like you enjoy throwing the bike around a bit.

If that's true, get the MTB. You can ride it just fine on pavement, and if you're buying an entry level bike, they'll often come with center ridge tires that take some of the knobby buzz away. The only downside to a trail-oriented MTB is that the knobby tires will wear out quicker on pavement, and it will have a more aggressive forward position that many novice riders feel is uncomfortable, but keeps weight over the front tire for control in the soft dirt.

If you buy a pavement-oriented bike and try to ride it off-road, your skills will certainly be challenged.

Buy a cheap bike and get to know what you want, then buy a nicer bike that suits it better.

He wants something he can commute on, but he wants a significant part of that commute to be trail riding, or at least shortcuts through unimproved areas.

Sounds like he wants a cross bike, or a cross-based hybrid with cross tires.

But... He said he tried a roadster and didn't like the feel.....

How about one of these now-common "urban" mountain bikes? The ones that come set up with street-type tires? These look very practical for the type of riding he describes.

This is really good advice here. Since I have gotten back into bking about 2 years ago, I have purchased 3 bikes. After starting out with a mountain bike and realizing I was on the road most of the time, I got a hybrid. Then I wanted to go even faster and got a road bike. Now I find the road bike to be somewhat limiting as to where I can go (encountering gravel roads in the country). So, it looks like a Cyclocross bike is in my very near future.

Doesn't matter what bike you buy now as all it will tell you is what you should have bought in the first place.

Cheaper bikes will have just about adequate everything. Wheels- suspension fork (if that is the way you go) gear train etc.

I would suggest looking at something like a Giant Boulder Mountain bike with rigid forks. Change the tyres to Semi- slicks and go and ride it. Within a short while you will find the faults and either upgrade or sell the bike to get what you needed in the first place- except you will now know what you want.

Yeah, or maybe an entry level mtb/urban bike. Depends on if OP wants to ride in the drops or is okay w/ being upright.